F.D.A. Panel Weighs Preventive Use of H.I.V. Drug

New York Times ^ | May 10, 2012 | DENISE GRADY

[reaganaut1]

An advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration is expected to vote Thursday on whether a drug already used to treat H.I.V. infection should also be approved to prevent it. Such a recommendation, if made, would mark the first time that government advisers have advocated giving antiviral medicine to healthy people who might be exposed through sexual activity to the virus that causes AIDS.

Studies have shown that people who take the medicine, Truvada, every day have a greatly reduced risk of infection.

The F.D.A. usually accepts the advice of its advisory panels, which are made up of outside experts, mostly from medical schools.

On Thursday morning, the panel evaluated studies of the once-a-day pill and heard scientific presentations about whether Truvada should be prescribed for people at high risk of infection, like gay men who have multiple sex partners, especially those who do not always use condoms, and people in relationships with someone who is H.I.V.-positive. Young black men who have sex with other men are at highest risk.

The drug is meant not to replace condoms and other safe-sex measures, but to be used with them for added protection.

Experts say better methods of prevention are needed because there are 50,000 new H.I.V. infections a year in the United States. Several speakers emphasized on Thursday that that number had not budged in 15 to 20 years. Counseling and condoms are not doing the job, they said, and many of the newly infected are men whose sexual partners do not realize they are H.I.V.-positive.

Worldwide, there were 2.4 million to 2.9 million new cases in 2010.

[reaganaut1]

Instead of people not doing the things that get them AIDS, the taxpayer will be forced to further subsidize their activities. But who am I to judge someone's "lifestyle"?

[Truth29]

So it is a very expensive gay lifestyle drug that the rest of us will have to pay for through Obamacare or through increased premiums by private insurers.

[goodwithagun]

We already know how to prevent it. If lethal human beings were required to tell others they can kill with their body fluids, there would be fewer accidental cases.

[Doc Savage]

When is anyone (except Duesberg) going to expose this false homo agenda. I've been trying for years here, but Freepers still get conned. Long live Magic Johnson. As many of you youngsters probably don't know or remember, there was a time when America and the NBA was scared to death!!! What if Magic gets hit in the face and his blood is splattered around on the other players???????? Holy Crap! We're all doomed!!

What a bunch of horsesh*t! Believe what you want, but I can assure you the homo agenda in this country is to mandate any wacko immunization these cretins develop, or drug if they can fool you! You'll be forced to take it or you won't be allowed ObamaCare! Count on it!

[Chode]

don't have filthy queer sex and you don't need the drugs...

[allmendream]

Preventative use is often known as “prophylactic” use - in the original meaning of the word.

But they don't call it that in this case - because homosexuals will not use prophylactics.